Tight Squeeze

Nation 2001 - On the Cover

August 24, 2001|By George Diaz, Sentinel Staff Writer

CORAL GABLES -- One is a bruiser with a brain.

The other is labeled a "freak," packaged in a 6-foot-9, 336-pound frame supported by size 18 feet.

You do not cross Joaquin Gonzalez or Bryant McKinnie, bookend tackles who have built a Great Wall along tropical borders in South Florida. In 348 passing plays last season, the Miami Hurricane offensive line allowed only three quarterback sacks.

"I don't even want him to see the ball-carrier or the quarterback," McKinnie said. "I want to eliminate the defensive end from making any tackles."

Combining for 628 pounds of mayhem and muscle, Gonzalez and McKinnie lead an eclectic offensive line that returns four starters and is a significant factor in the pre-season infatuation with the Hurricanes.

Gonzalez, the 6-5, 292-pound right tackle, is a Cuban-American who said adios to Harvard to walk-on at Miami

McKinnie, the left tackle, was better known in high school for beating on a bass drum than on football players.

Then, there is Martin Bibla, a right guard fluent in English, Russian and Polish and center Brett Romberg,a shaggy-haired Canadian who sings and plays guitar in a rock band.

Gonzalez was a marginal local prospect from Miami Columbus High who was not offered a grant-in-aid by any of the Big Three in Florida. After scoring 1,320 out of 1,600 on his SATs and turning down a stack of Ivy League opportunities, Gonzalez chose an academic grant-in-aid at Miami and took his chances as a football walk-on in 1997.

"The Harvard coach came twice to my house," Gonzalez said, "but my dream was to play for Miami. I told my brother, `Look dude, Harvard sounds great, but I have my mind made up.' ''

McKinnie took even more unconventional steps before tasting the ethnic flavor of Miami's culture. This is only his sixth season of organized football. Growing up, McKinnie was too big for his age to play in any organized leagues -- he weighed 130 in third grade -- so he didn't suit up until his junior year in high school at Woodbury, N.J.

"There is no one in my family remotely as big," he said. "I came out of nowhere."

Although he originally signed with Iowa, McKinnie was academically ineligible to attend and ended up at Lackawanna Junior College in Scranton, Pa. for two seasons before moving to Miami.

After redshirting in 1999, McKinnie would become an unmovable force on the line, and was selected as the top lineman on the team by UM coaches. "Bryant has arms that can touch the wall from here, catchers' mitts for hands" he said. "He's very raw but has phenomenal potential."

McKinnie had considered declaring himself eligible for the NFL Draft but was persuaded otherwise by then-UM Head Coach Butch Davis, who left the program in January to coach the Cleveland Browns.

Regarded by many observers as the best offensive lineman in college football, McKinnie is preparing for the season by watching tapes of Baltimore Ravens three-time All-Pro Jonathan Ogden. Former Miami standout defensive tackle Damien Lewis, now with the St. Louis Rams, came back during the summer to show him what twists and turns to expect on the other side of the line.

"I don't think he's going to be playing his best football until he is in the NFL," Gonzalez said. "He has so much physical strength. He's strong but he hasn't reached his potential. "